Review

Review Summary: Gottesmorder’s self-titled EP makes it clear that the band should be on every black metal fan’s radar.

Post-rock influenced black metal is not a new combination of music styles but is one that has been around for quite a while and has an impressive repertoire of musicians to represent it. The conjoining of post-rock has holistically been a breakthrough for black metal and inaugurated some arguably impressive works. A few in particular that come to mind are White Tomb by Altar of Plagues, Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars by Blut Aus Nord, and Monument to Time End by Twilight. Equally there has been quite the watershed of post-rock influenced black metal that has largely jettisoned the integrity of the genre’s content. It was not intentionally that these artists diminished the genres sterling character but rather did so through failed experimentation as a means to arrive at a seemingly progressive end. But for them this end has been the loss of the listener’s impetus that had made it possible for them to journey through an album with songs that potentially ranged from six to sixty minutes in length. This loss of the listener’s impetus stems (almost exclusively) from instrumental meandering that has been best identified in one album in particular, the album Dimensional Bleedthrough by Krallice. Although this album is not the only one of its kind to meander instrumentally it is by far the most commonly known example and thus makes it the most pertinent. Thus it is fair to say that when a new post-rock influenced band makes an appearance and does not fall into this trap that they are almost certainly to be at the very least moderately interesting, even if largely unoriginal. This however is not the case for Gottesmorder, an Italian black metal band that, as of last year, made their first appearance internationally through the release of their self-titled EP.

The success of their EP is not only due to their overcoming of the trap of meandering but is also due to their incredible narration, instrumental presence, and atmosphere. As long as the listener has fair expectations when approaching Gottesmorder, understanding that the art usually mean that a post-rock influenced black metal band’s music does not have a speedy pick-up, the slow and melodic introductory ambience and subtle background instrumentation will orchestrate a dark, emotive, tranquil, and aurally aesthetic narration. The narration becomes an omnipotent presence that engulfs the listener and fabricates the tone of their perception, immersing one in the diagetics [artificially created world] of the EP. This omnipotent presence, in its entire grand splendor, is the procurer of the atmosphere that captures and holds the listeners subjective attention. In the background the narration and tone influence the causal interpretation of the overwhelming stimuli that has been presented and renders the listener into a state of embrace, affirming the prescribed appeal critics like this reviewer have reported experiencing.

What holds this EP back however is that it leaves certain elements to be desired. These elements are elements known mostly to experienced listeners of the black metal genre whom will later juxtapose this EP and compare it’s correlation with other releases. In doing so they will notice that while Gottesmorder is very enjoyable there are additions that could be made to its contents that would serve to further improve the EP’s appeal. These elements will vary in breadth depending on the experience of the listener but (hopefully) will not completely define their overall appraisal. So while Gottesmorder is universally appealing to black metal aficionados it also settles a corresponding universal feeling that something is lacking. But this feeling that there is a lack of particular elements is not the prominent feeling that is left in listener as they finish their initial listen. Rather it is just an accompanying feeling that serves as a healthy skepticism associated with listening to any release that raises fan’s expectations. Based off of Gottesmorder’s self-titled debut EP it seems more than safe to raise one’s expectations for future albums by them and thus place’s the band as an artist that black metal fan’s should have on their radar, to attentively watch out for new material. The band has proven through this release that they are at least part of the cicatrix that is forming over the wound left by similar artists such as Krallice.